Issue - meetings

Mike Davies, Cambridgeshire County Council

The Committee received a presentation from the Cycling Projects Team Leader.

The presentation updated four cycle projects within the city:

1.   Abbey/Chesterton Bridge:

                     i.        Planning consent had been obtained so the development could move to the next stage. The site posed a number of difficulties because of its locality and the natural obstacles.

                    ii.        Plans were in place to improve and widen the approach to the timber jetty underneath the bridge.

                   iii.        A Local Liaison Forum open to the public was due to take place on 10 Jan at Barnwell Baptist Church.

2.   Arbury Road:

                     i.        The first phase was completed in summer 2016.

                    ii.        The next phase was due to start imminently, this included implementing raised red cycle lanes, making the road narrower and removing the mini roundabout.

                   iii.        Phase 3 would involve a consultation to gather public opinion on proposed changes to the resident parking.

3.   Green End Road:

                     i.        First phase was almost complete.

                    ii.        The next phase focused on Milton Road to Nuffield Road, due to the size of the road along this stretch it was possible to retain parking with footways, segregated cycle lanes and provide grass verge and trees.

                   iii.        Lots of consultation had taken place for the Nuffield Road area; public consensus suggested that they wanted to retain much of the existing infrastructure so few changes would be made there. 

4.   Waterbeach Greenway:

                     i.        The Greenway would link the city with the large new housing development proposed in Waterbeach to provide a more sustainable route into the city.

                    ii.        The prospective route was likely to run alongside the railway line.

                   iii.        Further consultation was due to be undertaken in 2018.

A Member of the public made the following comment in response to the presentation:

1.   Expressed disappointment at the Nuffield Road cycle provision proposals, stating that segregated off road cycle lanes would be safer.

The Cycling Projects Team Leader affirmed that lots of consultation had been undertaken in the area and the public consensus was to retain the wall and trees. Unfortunately it wasn’t possible to address all of the local concerns but he welcomed input from the public.

The Committee made the following comments in response to the presentation:

     i.        Queried the mix of opinion on retaining the wall on Nuffield Road. Enquiries had been made with Greater Cambridge Partnership to view their consultation but the response received confirmed that Councillor’s Bird and Price had stopped the consultation.

    ii.        Affirmed that consultation had been undertaken with residents in the Nuffield Road area because Councillors Bird and Price had taken part in the door to door contact. The consensus was that residents used the green space as a garden and liked the privacy that the wall gave.

   iii.        Expressed concern at the suggestion that schools were encouraging vehicle drop offs by asking for a layby to be installed.